MONTREAL 鈥� Police arrested 13 people Wednesday in a massive sweep against a series of alleged extortion crimes targeting the owners of two downtown Montreal restaurants.
Cmdr. Pierre-Marc Houle said Wednesday's arrests targeted those overseeing the extortion rackets, not the ones causing the damage.
"We are talking about individuals who would be at a higher level than that of executors," Houle said in a statement.
The arrests come after an uptick in extortion-related attempts in recent weeks involving restaurants and bars, and including firebombings and gunfire.
Police said the three main suspects arrested Wednesday are men aged 25, 34 and 39.
The alleged extortion targeted the owners of two restaurants in the downtown Ville-Marie borough, with one of the establishments being shot up in February.
The owners' other restaurants and one of their residences were also targeted.
During their investigation, police discovered two independent cells that allegedly also tried to extort the same business owners.
Police also arrested eight men and two women between the ages of 28 and 44 and say those two groups are believed to have been involved in other activities, including drug trafficking.
One restaurant association said getting business owners to come forward is key. Many are fearful of reprisals or have already paid the protection money and decide not to call police.
"It comes in waves. There are some years that its more present and then it goes back," said Dominique Tremblay, public affairs director for the Association Restauration Qu茅bec.
"We learn about it in the media. We don't have a large number of members calling us and telling us they're living this."
Some of the 13 arrested will appear in court over the next 24 hours, police said.
Houle said the operation, which involved 150 officers spread out over three cities and seven Montreal boroughs, shows police are able to crack down on intimidation when merchants bring it to their attention.
"We have other investigations underway into similar events and we are confident that they will lead to additional arrests," Houle said.
Luc Rabouin, the executive committee member responsible for economic development, lauded the arrests.
"If there are arrests (today), it's because business owners signalled there were problems," Rabouin said.
"It's important they come forward and give information to police so they can intervene. It's unacceptable. We won't tolerate criminal groups extorting Montreal businesses."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2025.
Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press
